Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Tool Box Talks

Individuals who are infected with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) may not show symptoms and may not know they are infectious. For this reason, all human blood and body fluids should be considered as if infectious, and all precautions should be taken to avoid contact. This simple rule is known as "universal precautions."

In the workplace, bloodborne pathogens (BBP) may be transmitted when blood or other infectious body fluids come in contact with mucous membranes (your eyes, nose, mouth); non-intact skin (due to cuts, abrasions, burns, rashes, paper cuts); or by handling or touching contaminated materials or surfaces. Bloodborne pathogens are also transmitted by "injection" under the skin via an contaminated sharp object puncturing or cutting the skin causing a wound.

Hepatitis B Virus versus Human Immunodeficiency Virus:
- Hepatitis B Virus is more persistent than HIV and is able to survive for at least one week in dried blood on environmental surfaces. However, HIV will not survive for more than a few minutes when exposed to room temperature air, and will usually die within seconds.
- A teaspoon of infected blood may contain over one billion HBV particles, while a teaspoon of infected HIV blood contains about 15 HIV particles.
- Hepatitis B Virus usually has mild symptoms which makes diagnosis difficult. HIV infections usually are not diagnosed for years and symptoms may not appear for many months or years.
- Hepatitis B can be prevented with a vaccine. At the present time there is no preventive vaccine for HIV.
- No cure is presently available for HBV or HIV.

If you administer first aid to an injured person in the workplace and there is a potential for contacting any body fluids, you should adhere to the following "universal precaution" guidelines:
- Wear impervious gloves when there is a chance of exposure to blood or body fluids.
- Wear a face shield to protect your entire face, and safety goggles to provide the most complete eye protection.
- Use resuscitation devices when performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
- Report all BBP exposures, or potential exposures to your supervisor immediately.
- Immediately wash your hands and affected areas with soap and warm water.
- Flush your eyes, nose or other mucous membrane areas with water, if exposed.
- Wash down areas which body fluids may have been contacted with the use of a mild solution of household water and bleach (10:1).

This information is provided by: Assurance Agency

Lead Exposure Overview - TBT

Lead exposure can threaten you if you perform activities like abrasive blasting, sanding, scraping, cutting, burning, welding, and painting during repair, reconstruction, dismantling, and demolition work. If you are not properly protected, your chances of exposing yourself to lead poisoning are high.

What are the hazards?
A short-term high-dose exposure could result in a brain disorder escalating to seizures, coma or even death. Long-term low-level exposure can decrease reaction time, cause nervous system damage, kidney disease, reproductive impairment, or death.
When absorbed into the body in certain doses, lead is a toxic substance. Lead is absorbed when breathing or eating, and through the skin when in certain forms. OSHA limits the concentration of lead in work area air to 50 micrograms per cubic meter for an 8-hour workday. This is the permissible exposure limit (PEL).

What must my employer do?
If lead is present at your worksite in any quantity, your company must determine whether OSHA’s action level for workers has been reached/exceeded or not. You will be notified of the results.
If exposure is above the PEL, your company must try to minimize exposure with controls like:
Using HEPA vacuums

• Distancing employees from abrasive blasting operations 
• Using chemical removal instead of hand scraping
• Replacing lead-based painted building components
• Brushing/rolling paint instead of spraying
• Substituting other coatings for lead-based coatings.

What should I do?
You should use the following good work practices to help protect yourself when working with lead:
 Use the correct, clean respirator.
* Keep the worksite clean. Use only a vacuum with a HEPA filter or wet cleaning methods when removing lead dust. Never use compressed air for cleaning.
* Eat, drink, or smoke in areas outside the worksite. Keep all lunch boxes and coffee cups away from the work area. Use a separate lunchroom.
* Wash your hands and face before eating, drinking, smoking, or applying cosmetics.
* Use protective clothing. Store street clothes separately from work clothes. Never wear contaminated clothes home.
* Shower and change into clean clothes, including shoes, before leaving the worksite so that no lead contamination is carried home.

Respirators — Respirators are used with engineering controls and work practices. They are put on and removed outside the lead area. Fit testing guarantees a tight seal.

Signs — If exposure exceeds the PEL, you’ll see the following message posted: WARNING, LEAD WORK AREA, POISON, NO SMOKING OR EATING

This information is provided by: Assurance Agency

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)

Overview
Nearly 350,000 people die of sudden cardiac arrest each year. Currently, the chances of surviving sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) without the aid of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) are one in twenty.

However, with an AED, chances of survival improve to one in three. The use of AEDs could save 100,000 livesper year!

What is SCA?
The heart normally has a rhythmic beat which causes the blood to move in a consistent, predictable way. When someone has an SCA event, the heart begins to pump irregularly and ineffectively. This is called ventricular fibrillation (VF). VF is not to be confused with the heart attack where blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked. With VF, the blood stops circulating adequately, breathing stops, and eventually the victim will die.

Another SCA event is ventricular tachycardia (VT), when the heart muscles start to “quiver” instead of working together to push blood through the system.

CPR alone does not replace defibrillation in an SCA incident. CPR can only assist the victim for a short time until medical help arrives. However, medical assistance can be many minutes away. According to the American Heart Association, the chances of survival decrease 10 percent with each passing minute that the heart beat is not returned to normal. Very few people have survived SCA after 10 minutes with no medical treatment.

Unfortunately, we don’t know why SCAs occur, nor how to prevent them. We do know, however, how to fix them if they occur—AEDs.

What is an AED?
You’ve seen full-sized defibrillators on television. When the doctor shouts “Clear” and shocks the victim, they are using a defibrillator. The AED works the same—it shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm to restore a pulse.

Manufacturers have developed lighter, smaller, battery-operated, computer-controlled models which nearly anyone can use.

Signs and symptoms of SCA
Symptoms of SCA are very sudden and dramatic. Typically, the victim will collapse, and show no sign of a pulse. At this point, emergency medical help must be summoned, and the AED used.

The victim’s chest is bared, all visible jewelry or medicine patches are removed, and the electrode pads are attached.

This information is provided by: Assurance Agency

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Windy Conditions and Construction

Windy conditions are a fact of life in this area during many times of the year. The goal is to maintain safety and production while dealing with this issue. Sometimes it is just too windy to work. A collapsed wall, employee injury or other related incident will cost far more than any production gains that can be made in high-wind conditions.

Wall Bracing:
How much bracing is needed? Watching the weather report is a good plan to take. A sunny day can turn into near-tornado conditions by the next day. There is no formula for proper bracing. However, experience is the primary method. Be conservative and brace assuming strong overnight wind.
- The future weather should always be a concern that is monitored.
- Some crews have made California Corner braces to increase the breaking strength of the brace.
- The point of brace contact on the floor needs to be strong. A brace nailed into the flooring needs to be nailed through a floor joist as well.
- The point of brace contact on the wall should not be damaged or split wood. Damaged lumber will not likely hold a substantial wind load without failure.

Standing Walls:
A plan needs to be established when placing walls with regard to wind. (The goal is to take precautionary measures to avoid an incident rather than reacting to a wall tip-over.)
- Make certain the appropriate man-power is available.
- Wall braces may need to be placed prior to standing the wall during windy conditions.
- The bottom of the wall may need to be strapped even on 8 foot 2x4 walls if the winds dictate.
- Determine if it is too windy to lift the walls. This may be your best decision of the day.

Bracing Roof Trusses:
Proper bracing is usually left to the discretion of the roof crew. Keep in mind that a gable truss recently broke a 2 x 4 support causing an injury. The supporting brace may subject to loads that will break a standard 2 x 4 during windy conditions. If it is becoming windy, additional bracing and sway bracing will be needed. When monitoring this on the job, ask the roof crew to support the trusses for substantial wind. Be willing to stop the work.

Roof Sheathing:
Sometimes the best protection is to suspend work. If the work will continue based on the best judgement of the foreman, the following items should be considered:
- Nail down what you place the same day.
- Always walk on the wind-side of the plywood sheet. This way, you can let go of the sheet rather than being blown off the roof. (If it is this windy, you should probably suspend roof work.)
- Storing material on the roof: The top several sheets of plywood need to be secured to prevent them from blowing off the roof. The entire plywood bunk may need to be secured based on wind or anticipated wind.

Other Operations:
- Suspend top plate work if the wind creates an unacceptable hazard.
- Unsecured material stored in a vertical position are at risk at being blown over and should be taken down or secured.
- Ladders should not be stored in a leaning position.
- Caution needs to be paid to cutting operations. Always stand up wind of the cut so the saw dust will not blow in your eyes.

This information was provided by: Assurance Agency

2017 Annual RCEC / HBAGC Golf Outing

Thursday, May 25, 2017
The Highlands of Elgin, 875 Sports Way, Elgin
Registration 9 am / Shotgun Start 10 am 

You can also go to rcecusa.org

Download the Flyer - Includes registration and sponsorships.
If you use the mail in form be sure to send the form to Cathy Kirin.
1333 Burr Ridge Parkway, Suite 200, Burr Ridge, IL 60527

Register and pay online - Sponsorships only.

Register and pay online for golfers.
Register and pay for Dinner Only.

Golfers: $155 per person-Check or Cash
$160 per person-Credit Card
Dinner only: $55 per person-Check or Cash
$60 per person-Credit Card

Sponsorship Opportunities:

• $5,000 Platinum Sponsor
• $2,000 Gold Sponsor
• $750 Hole-in-One Sponsor
• $750 Beverage Cart Sponsor - Sold Out
• $700 Foursome Photos
• $500  Closest to Pin (Men/Women)
• $500  Longest Drive (Men/Women)

• $500 Lunch Sponsor
• $500 19th Hole Sponsor
• $400 Bloody Mary Sponsor
• $200 Contest Hole Sponsor
• $175 Hole Sign Sponsor